State of the State

A winter weather advisory is in effect for the St. Louis region until 6 p.m. Thursday evening. Heavy snow fell overnight in St. Charles County, Northern St. Louis County, St. Louis City and Madison County, Il. The National Weather Service says more snow is expected throughout the day. Some places in the St. Louis region might see 12 inches of snow by the time the snow stops.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon proposed flat funding for public schools and cuts to colleges in his annual State of the State speech. In his address last night, the Democratic governor acknowledged that "times are tough" and he said that even modest job gains are cause for celebration. Nixon put forth a plan to slightly shrink the state's spending, shedding several hundred state workers and privatizing some of their functions. He proposed a $23.1 billion operating budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Missouri lawmakers are urging Attorney General Chris Koster to challenge the federal health care law. The Republican-led Senate passed a resolution Wednesday asking the Democratic attorney general to either file his own lawsuit, join a suit by other attorneys general or join a suit filed by Republican Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder. A similar resolution was passed last week by Missouri's Republican-led House of Representatives. Koster's spokeswoman has said only that the office is monitoring the situation. The Missouri legislative action comes as Republicans in charge of the U.S. House are attempting to repeal the federal health care law enacted last year by President Barack Obama. That effort is not expected to receive support in the U.S. Senate, which is still controlled by Democrats.

Tonight Mo. Gov. Jay Nixon gave his annual speech to the Missouri General Assembly - the State of the State address.

We'll have a full report from our statehouse reporter Marshall Griffin tomorrow during Morning Edition, but here are the highlights of tonight's event and corresponding issues, along with key points from the Republican response given by Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon plans to deliver his annual State of the State speech on Jan. 19.

The speech is given each year in the House chamber before a joint legislative session. Governors use the speech to outline their priorities, highlight past polices and present their proposed state budget.

Policymakers estimate that Missouri is facing a $500 million budget deficit.

Nixon's speech is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

Read last year's state of the state address here for some perspective on where Missouri was on the issues a year ago.